Same as you. When I do tennis ball I feel the muscle hurt but it still feels deep sometimes. Also I went to PT and they put a tens machine on my back and I felt it in back and in the front on the left abdomen. Im afraid it will be LungCan or PanCan plus my nails are clubbed,altho they've been that way most of my life

Hi Shutterbug,My pain started a couple weeks ago after a bout of extreme stress. I chalked it up to either stress, running (I run 3-4 times a week) or picking up one of our dogs with one hand. At the onset I had been feeling pain just around my ribs. Then, a couple days ago my upper back went into complete spasm. I had to lie on a heating pad for 1/2 an hour just to get it to stop. When I went to the chiropractor he first thought of shingles, but I don't have the rash and the pain isn't debilitating. He did an ultrasound treatment on the trigger points in my back and I was amazed - there were a couple he hit and I could feel the pain activate in my ribs in the front. I asked him if he thought it might be either gallbladder or ulcer related and he said no. Since I saw him I have felt close to 80% better. If you do go to a chiropractor make sure it's a good one. I've been going to this guy for years and he is great with muscle/trigger point work, which seems to be my main issue.

Hi Shutterbug,My pain started a couple weeks ago after a bout of extreme stress. I chalked it up to either stress, running (I run 3-4 times a week) or picking up one of our dogs with one hand. At the onset I had been feeling pain just around my ribs. Then, a couple days ago my upper back went into complete spasm. I had to lie on a heating pad for 1/2 an hour just to get it to stop. When I went to the chiropractor he first thought of shingles, but I don't have the rash and the pain isn't debilitating. He did an ultrasound treatment on the trigger points in my back and I was amazed - there were a couple he hit and I could feel the pain activate in my ribs in the front. I asked him if he thought it might be either gallbladder or ulcer related and he said no. Since I saw him I have felt close to 80% better. If you do go to a chiropractor make sure it's a good one. I've been going to this guy for years and he is great with muscle/trigger point work, which seems to be my main issue.

So let me get this straight...

You felt pain in your back and when he did ultrasound it transferred to the front of your ribs? As in referred pain?

Yes, exactly! I had been having pain in my ribs that wrapped around to my back. He did the ultrasound and when he hit a couple trigger points on my back and I felt it in the front on my ribs. I told this to my friend who is a nurse, and she said that the dermatomes that start in the spine wrap around to the front. I think I'm getting that right. It's referred pain.

Let me just add that the whole experience was truly bizarre. When he hit on a trigger point (mostly around my scapula) I felt the pain there but also the rib pain I had been complaining about. Very strange. It just goes to show you how connected our body parts are - they don't operate in a vacuum, and if one part is stressed or inflamed, it affects other parts.